Edible wild plants & mushrooms
The 📷 links open the Wikipedia article with photos, offline via the local Wikipedia server (pictures only with the Wikipedia package in the "Complete" profile, downloaded via DATEN-LADEN.bat). The species below are those of Central Europe.
The three rules that save lives
- Only eat what you have identified with 100 % certainty. A photo or a resemblance to a picture is not enough. Check every feature (leaf, stem, smell, flower, habitat), ideally with a second person.
- Pick one at a time, not in bunches. Most fatal poisonings happen because a poisonous leaf gets mixed in with edible ones (wild garlic with lily of the valley).
- No members of the carrot family (plants with umbrella-shaped white flower heads such as wild carrot or chervil) without years of experience. This family contains the most poisonous plants in Europe.
The "universal edibility test" from survival books (try a small amount and wait) is useless against the most dangerous poisons. These act only after many hours — by then it is too late.
If poisoning is suspected: poison control — see region box (Germany: a different poison information centre is responsible depending on the federal state, e.g. Freiburg 0761 19240 for Baden-Württemberg, 24 h; Switzerland 145) · emergency number 112 (EU-wide). Note your own number here: ……. Keep any plant or mushroom remains and take them with you. Do not induce vomiting.
Safe wild plants for beginners (Central Europe)
| Plant | When | How to eat | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) 📷 | March–Oct., young shoot tips | like spinach, tea, seeds raw (protein) | hardly any confusion; wear gloves |
| Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) 📷 | March–May (leaves), root in autumn | salad, flowers, root roasted as a coffee substitute | harmless similar daisy-family plants |
| Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria) 📷 | April–June | like parsley/spinach | Carrot family! Features: stem three-edged, leaf divided 3 × 3, smells of carrot/parsley. Otherwise hemlock (Conium maculatum) 📷 |
| Chickweed (Stellaria media) 📷 | all year round, even in winter | salad (vitamin C) | scarlet pimpernel (no line of hairs on the stem, red flowers) |
| Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) 📷 | April–Oct. | young leaves, buds (taste of mushroom) | hardly any |
| Daisy (Bellis perennis) 📷 | all year round | flowers, leaves raw | hardly any |
| Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) 📷 | March–June | leaves as a garlic seasoning | when crushed it smells of garlic |
| Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) 📷 | April–June | a little, as seasoning (oxalic acid) | Lords-and-ladies / arum (deadly), which also has arrow-shaped leaves. Difference: sorrel has a membranous sheath around the stem at the base of the leaf and tastes sour; arum has net-like leaf veins and no sheath |
| Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) 📷 | March–April | raw, pesto | Lily of the valley 📷, autumn crocus 📷, lords-and-ladies 📷 — all deadly. Rub each leaf individually at the stalk. The smell test is deceptive, because your fingers smell of garlic after the first leaf |
| Lime/linden (young leaves, flowers) (Tilia cordata) 📷 | April–July | salad, flower tea | hardly any |
Fruits, nuts, seeds (calories!)
| Plant | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hazelnut (Corylus avellana) 📷 | Sept. | edible raw, very energy-rich |
| Walnut (Juglans regia) 📷 | Sept.–Oct. | raw, keeps well |
| Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) 📷 | Oct. | roasted/boiled. Not the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) 📷 (poisonous). Sweet chestnuts have a spiny husk with many fine spines and a point on the nut |
| Beechnut (Fagus sylvatica) 📷 | Sept.–Oct. | only roasted and in moderation; poisonous raw in larger quantities |
| Acorn (Quercus robur) 📷 | Oct. | shell, chop, soak for several days (change the water daily) until no longer bitter. Then dry and grind into flour |
| Elder (Sambucus nigra) 📷 | Aug.–Sept. | berries only cooked (juice, purée). Not dwarf elder (Sambucus ebulus) 📷 (poisonous, herbaceous, berries held upright) |
| Rose hip (dog rose, Rosa canina) 📷 | Sept.–Nov. | purée/tea, very rich in vitamin C. Remove the seeds with their hairs |
| Blackberry 📷, raspberry 📷 | July–Sept. | raw |
| Sloe (blackthorn, Prunus spinosa) 📷 | after the first frost | purée, juice |
| Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) 📷 | Aug.–Sept. | raw when fully ripe, jam |
| Spruce tips (Picea abies) 📷 | May | tea/syrup. Not the yew (Taxus baccata) 📷 (deadly; soft flat needles, red berries) |
| Bulrush/cattail (Typha latifolia) 📷 | autumn–winter | rhizome rich in starch, cook it |
Deadly poisonous plants in Central Europe — know them!
Hemlock (Conium maculatum) 📷 · Cowbane (Cicuta virosa) 📷 · Yew (Taxus baccata) 📷 · Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) 📷 · Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) 📷 · Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) 📷 · Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) 📷 · Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) 📷 · Laburnum (Laburnum anagyroides) 📷 · Mezereon (Daphne mezereum) 📷 · Thorn apple (Datura stramonium) 📷 · Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) 📷 (sap + sunlight = severe burns)
Think of dogs too: yew, autumn crocus, acorns in quantity and horse chestnuts are poisonous for them as well (chapter 22).
Mushrooms — honestly
Identifying mushrooms from pictures is the most common route to fatal poisoning. The death cap (Amanita phalloides) 📷 causes most mushroom deaths in Europe. The first symptoms appear only 6–24 hours later. After that, things seem to improve while the liver is being destroyed. If there is any suspicion: go to hospital immediately, even without symptoms.
Mushrooms provide hardly any calories (about 20–30 kcal per 100 g). The risk is high relative to the benefit. Suggestion: go on a guided walk now with a qualified mushroom expert (local mycological society or mushroom advice service; in Germany e.g. via the German Mycological Society) and learn only the following species.
Beginner mushrooms with a low risk of confusion
| Mushroom | Features | Danger |
|---|---|---|
| Cep / penny bun (Boletus edulis) 📷 | tubes (sponge) under the cap, white to olive; stem with a white net; flesh stays white | bitter bolete (bitter, inedible, dark net, pink tubes) |
| Bay bolete (Imleria badia) 📷 | brown cap, yellow tubes that turn blue when pressed | hardly any poisonous look-alikes |
| Giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea) 📷 | head-sized, white and firm all the way through inside | cut small specimens lengthways: if a stem or cap is visible, it is a young death cap/amanita. Yellowish or dark inside = do not eat |
| Cauliflower fungus (Sparassis crispa) 📷 | like a bath sponge, at the foot of pines | hardly any confusion |
| Hedgehog mushroom (Hydnum repandum) 📷 | spines instead of gills under the cap | no poisonous look-alikes |
Rules: as a beginner, do not collect gilled mushrooms (blades under the cap) — that is where the deadly species are. Avoid boletes with red pores or a red stem. Cook all wild mushrooms thoroughly (at least 15 minutes) — many are poisonous raw. Take only young, firm specimens.
Deadly poisonous — know them
Death cap (Amanita phalloides) 📷 · Destroying angel (Amanita virosa) 📷 · Fool's webcap (Cortinarius orellanus) 📷 (kidney failure only after days) · Funeral bell (Galerina marginata) 📷 · False morel (Gyromitra esculenta) 📷
Read on offline
Wikipedia with pictures (every species), Gardenology, Survivor Library (historical identification books) — all via DATEN-LADEN.bat. A printed field guide for your region and a mushroom book with look-alike tables still belong in your supplies.